Tag: Asia Pacific

Toxic fumes blamed for making more than 500 people ill near the industrial town of Pasir Gudang More than 100 schools in Malaysia have been closed after the dumping of toxic waste into a river caused hundreds of people to fall ill, including many children, authorities said. A lorry is believed to have dumped the waste in southern Johor state last week, sending hazardous fumes across a wide area and causing those affected to display symptoms of poisoning such as nausea and vomiting. More than 500 people, many of them…

We now know where North Korea and US stand and the gaps that still need to be closed The Hanoi summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un may have Trump-Kim nuclear talks in Hanoi break down video report The summit was doomed because those proved to be delusions. Kim arrived with a clear game plan and was not going to be diverted from it under pressure at the last minute. The accounts of what happened in Hanoi and in the preceding months suggest that while the summit was premature, there…

Leaders take part in highly choreographed opening to three days of talks in Pyongyang, North Korea Kim Jong-un has greeted the South Korean president to cheers from crowds assembled at North Koreas Pyongyang airport as the pair begin their third summit. The North Korean leader emerged from the airport building to raucous cheering and walked up to President Moon Jae-in. The two leaders embraced and flashed wide smiles. South Korean President Moon Jae-in hugs North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un Photograph: AP The highly choreographed meeting set to dramatic music provided…

British foreign secretary refers to his Chinese wife as Japanese during debut visit to Beijing Jeremy Hunt, Britains new foreign secretary, has made an awkward debut in China when he sought to curry favour with his hosts by mentioning his Chinese wife, but accidentally referred to her as Japanese. China and Japan have been traditional rivals for centuries. Although relations have improved somewhat recently, they remain touchy due to issues such as Japans bloody occupation of parts of China in the 1930s and 40s. Hunt, who was on his first…

Rescue team confirms first boys from group of 12 trapped for two weeks have been freed Four boys from a group of 12 children who have been trapped inside a cave in northern Thailand for more than two weeks have been freed, authorities have confirmed. Today was the best situation in terms of kids health, water and our rescue readiness,Narongsak Osatanakorn, the head of the joint command centre coordinating the rescue, said at a press briefing on Sunday. Four have been [brought] out from the cave site, four have been…

Monitoring group says work shows why a denuclearisation deal rather than a statement of lofty goals is needed North Korea has continued to upgrade its only known nuclear reactor used to fuel its weapons program, satellite imagery has shown, despite ongoing negotiations with the US and a pledge to denuclearise. Play Video 4:03 according to an analysis by monitoring group 38 North of commercial satellite images taken on 21 June. The cooling system for the plutonium production reactor has been modified and at least two new non-industrial buildings have been…

Pilot whale was found barely alive in Thai canal and vomited up five bags during fruitless rescue attempts A whale has died in southern Thailand after swallowing more than 80 plastic bags, with rescuers failing to nurse the mammal back to health. The small male pilot whale was found barely alive in a canal near the border with Malaysia, the countrys department of marine and coastal resources said. A veterinary team tried to help stabilise its illness but finally the whale died on Friday afternoon. An autopsy revealed 80 plastic…

Price of commemorative coins reduced but customers who have already bought them have asked if they can get their money back The Donald Trump summit with Kim Jong-un #NorthKoreaSummit commemorative coin is now a “Deal of the Day” at the White House Gift Shop. h/t pic.twitter.com/QaHyAnyl9B

Couples will be forced to sit apart after group of singles work together to buy up tickets to romantic movie at Shanghai cinema Romantics in Shanghai will have to forget dinner and a movie for Valentine’s Day. Chinese pranksters have reserved all of the odd-numbered seats at a cinema’s primetime screening, forcing couples to sit apart. The seating plan at Xintiandi cinema. Photograph: Shanghai Morning Post A group of embittered singles worked together to buy up the tickets to a 7.30pm screening of Beijing Love Story, a sappy big-budget romance,…

Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in pledge denuclearisation and end to decades of hostility after summit The leaders of North and South Korea have promised after a landmark summit to bring lasting peace to the peninsula with a commitment to denuclearisation and to ending decades of hostilities. Speaking at the end of an extraordinary day that summit between Kim and Donald Trump. The US president, in his April 27, 2018 Speaking at the White House, Trump warned that the US was not going to be played by North Korea, later the…

Labour PM says deputy Winston Peters will take over for six weeks when baby is born in June Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand prime minister announces first pregnancy Labour PM says deputy Winston Peters will take over for six weeks when baby is born in June Eleanor Ainge Roy in Dunedin @EleanorAingeRoy First published on Thu 18 Jan 2018 17.18EST Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern announces she’s pregnant with first child video New Zealands prime minister, who was sworn in to office…

Rare footage of the capture of wild young elephants in Zimbabwe shows rough treatment of the calves as they are sedated and taken away The Guardian has been given exclusive footage which shows the capture of young, wild elephants in Zimbabwe in preparation, it is believed, for their legal sale to Chinese zoos. In the early morning of 8 August, five elephants were caught in Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks). These captures are usually kept as secret as possible. The Guardian understands that in this case the usual…

The North Korean leader has upped his rhetoric against the US president, calling him mentally-deranged and a dotard North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un has once again upped his rhetoric against US president Donald Trump. Here is his statement in full: The speech made by the US president in his maiden address on the UN arena in the prevailing serious circumstances, in which the situation on the Korean peninsula has been rendered tense as never before and is inching closer to a touch-and-go state, is arousing worldwide concern. Shaping the general…

North Koreas foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho, responds to Donald Trump calling Kim Jong-un rocket man North Koreas foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho, has issued a withering riposte to Donald Trump, likening his threat to destroy the regime to the sound of a dog barking, adding that he felt sorry for the US presidents advisers. In his first speech to the UN general assembly, Trump said on Tuesday the US would be forced to tweet last weekend, Trump said to the visible dismay of some in the hall: Rocket man is on…